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Erosion

Erosion

Soil erosion is a significant threat to New Zealand deer farming’s well-earned image of environmental sustainability and erosion management techniques need to be continuously improved, consistently applied and accountable via the deer farm’s Land and Environment Plan (LEP).

Deer and erosion

Erosion along fence lines created by deer pacing has been a characteristic feature on deer farms that is rapidly diminishing as farmers have adapted deer to captivity and learned how to reduce their responses to behavioural stress or disturbance. Deer also contribute to erosion in their hierarchical competition and play, exposing soil and digging (especially on slopes), as well as by wallowing and congregation at camping areas.

Erosion of soil that is able to enter waterways affects water quality as the eroded soil particles transported in storm runoff have large amounts of phosphorus attached. Research has shown that while deer farming may result in less nitrogen-loss to waterways from farmland than from cattle or dairying, deer farms tend to have greater phosphorus loss that other types of pastoral farming (McDowell and Wilcox 2008).